Ava DuVernay won the Best Director award at the Sundance Film Festival for her drama ‘Middle Of Nowhere’ – making her the first black woman to take home the honor.

DuVernay’s U.S. Dramatic Competition film chronicles a woman’s struggle to adapt to life after her husband’s incarceration. “This epidemic of incarceration really affects black and brown communities disproportionately,” DeVernay said in the interview seen in the video above.

In her acceptance speech Duvernay thanked her grandmother for teaching her to see the beauty in Compton and Lynwood where she grew up. She also

stressed that it was important that her film be seen beyond the film festival and for “filmmakers of color to see one another’s films and have them seen.”

‘Middle Of Nowhere’ was picked up for distribution last week by Participant Media, which also distributed ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ ‘The Help,’ and ‘Waiting For Superman.’